Global Pollution Control

That the problem of pollution and ecology has become the most important one for mankind is evident to all. The more civilization is developing, the greater the ecological problems are becoming. Air and water pollution by industry is now reaching tremendous proportions. In our era it is changing from a national to an interna­tional problem, especially in territories where rivers cross several countries. The seas and oceans are also becoming seriously polluted. A similar situation is developing in the atmosphere. It is known that many cities throughout the world suffer from air pollution.

However, our scientific knowledge and technological advance­ment make it possible to eliminate it if people use good will1 and make considerable investments for that purpose. The develop­ment of natural resources on a global scale is already possible from a scientific and technical standpoint2. Large-scale experimental work in this area is successfully being carried out.

At present scientists in industrially developed countries are working on the theory of interaction of all the atmospheric and oceanic global processes that determine the climate and weather of the world. Increasing growth of population, industrialization and the use of resources are slowly but surely changing the global climate and water balance. This can be described as a great experi­ment, one that may bring about changes in the environment more serious than ever before.

The essential feature in the environment protection is that many problems can be solved only on the level of world community3. Therefore, the planning of protection against pollution by human society as a whole4 is imperative today and in the near future. It is necessary to develop an international program to study data on land, forest, atmospheric and oceanic resources, both renewable and non-renewable. It is the joint efforts of many scien­tists and special public organizations that can deal with the prob­lem and take necessary measures to protect the environment.

It is still a big job and much remains to be done5. However, sci­entists are confident that planned actions of all countries can elimi­nate pollution and achieve successes in purifying air, water and soil and in safeguarding natural resources. At the same time one must realize that social and political circumstances may stand in the way of further progress in this field.

1. What is this text about? 2. What is ecology? 3. How does wa­ter (air) become polluted? 4. Why is the problem of water pollution becoming a global problem?

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Global Pollution Control

It is difficult for mankind to predict (предсказать) changes in the environment accurately. It is known that natural changes in weather and climate may have more catastrophic global effects than human activity. But scientists are developing a new concept that can help make such prediction more accurately. It is based on our understanding that the Earth is an integral system. Its parts — oceans, atmosphere, land or life — cannot be understood in isola­tion to predict changes in the most accurate way. Modern scientific and technological progress made it possible to use new technolo­gies for that purpose. That satellites can control physical, chemical, biological and geological changes on a global scale is well-known now. One must also know that the study of environmental problems with the help of satellites is becoming international. Russia, the US, France, Japan, Canada, India, China and Italy are planning to send their satellites in both polar and geostationary orbits.

Pollution

The British, like many other Europeans, are becoming more and more worried (обеспокоеный) about their environment. Here are some of the environmental problems that they face. As the population of large cities like London, Birmingham and Manchester continues to grow, pollution problems become worse. The air in many towns and cities is being polluted by traffic (транспорт) and industry. The number of cars and trucks is growing all the time. On the one hand, they bring mobility to millions of people, but on the other hand, they need bigger, better and more expensive roads, which often ruin the countryside. Traffic in cities is getting worse and worse. Water pollution has become a serious problem in many British rivers. People living near airports suffer from the noise of increas­ingly larger and more powerful jet airliners taking off and landing.